Whale watch report from Roche Harbor, San Juan Island, WA

San Juan Island whale watch wildlife report for April 30th:

Captain Brian G. and I went out for a private charter this morning, and what a gorgeous morning it was! Some spectacular highlights were watching a peregrine falcon in flight (3 different times!) off Turn Point, watching a school of harbor porpoise race towards an oncoming boat and bow ride (not typical behavior), and getting some amazing views of a large herd of male mouflon sheep. They were off by themselves, and we saw some good examples of aggression between males too!

Also, confirmed whale reports put our local resident orca whales headed our way! They hadn't been spotted in over 45 days, so this is a break in the dry spell. I hope they are sticking around now, as they surely have been missed.

San Juan Island whale watch tour spies porpoise

San Juan Island whale watch wildlife update for April 3rd:

The blustery weather cleared long enough for Captain Brian and I to set out on a whale watch tour. We were hoping for a sighting of transient orcas (killer whales), but no luck. We were lucky with a few harbor porpoise sightings, many many harbor seals, a number of bald eagles displaying interesting behavior and a wonderful up close look at a peregrine falcon sitting just a few feet away!

We also drove very close to Spieden Island where we were able to see large herds of fallow deer and mouflon sheep. I've never seen so many before! This is a great time of year to see the animals on Spieden as the spring rains bring plenty of new growth to the grassy fields. We saw a large number of mouflon ewes with lambs, it's definitely that time of year.

San Juan Island 3 day sea kayak tour spies dozens of porpoise!

San Juan Island sea kayak wildlife update for April 2nd:

Well Noelle and I just returned from our first multi day sea kayak tour of 2010! We had a great, cheerful group and were both happy to get out on the water and dust some cobwebs off our paddling skills. We left Friday Harbor, paddled north and on Day 3 arrived at Roche Harbor-- all without retracing our steps.

Despite varying inclement weather our cheerful group made the best of each day. We were able to paddle around the Wasp Islands, hike around Jones Island State Park and explore the west side of San Juan and Henry Islands. It's definitely springtime here in the San Juan Islands, and the blossoms are in bloom!

I think I can safely speak for the group when I say everyone's highlight was setting off across San Juan Channel on Day 3, and stopping to listen to the dozens of harbor porpoise that were surfacing quietly on all sides of us. We got some great looks at a few pairs just a few hundred feet away, and could hear them breath as they surfaced. It was such special moment, and I was grateful for the chance to share a little island magic.

San Juan Island sea kayak 3hr tour spies variety of wildlife

San Juan Island sea kayak wildlife update for March 23rd:

Today I was able to paddle out with a lovely family new to the Northwest. Luckily for us we had gorgeous weather and could see clear to the Olympic, Cascade and Vancouver Island mountain ranges. The wildlife was visible as well, with a number of harbor seal sightings, various shorebirds seen and heard and even three harbor porpoise. I thoroughly enjoyed showing off a bit of the splendor of the islands, and the Pacific Northwest!

For me the highlight was spotting so many bald eagles, including one that was hunting. As we paddled along the cliffs of Henry Island, we saw an eagle take off from its perch, fly out over the water and swoop down. Three times it dove with talons outstretched, climbed back up, kited (back beating its wings to maintain position) and dove again. This is extremely taxing on the eagle, as they are not built for agile flying and kiting, but broad soaring. Despite all that effort, however, it did not catch anything.

Later I spoke with Brian about the eagle's behavior and he informed me that what the eagle had been hunting for was likely a diving bird. Eagles will watch a bird dive down and be poised to snatch it as soon as it comes up for air. That's why the eagle will kite and dive again-- knowing the bird must come up and cannot swim too much further, as opposed to a fish which will dive and not near the surface again.

All in all, a really interesting sight.

San Juan Island sea kayak tour

San Juan Island sea kayak tour wildlife update for February 6th:

I paddled out for my first trip of the season today, and what a day! The weather was perfect and the wildlife certainly on display. There were so many different kinds of winter birds-- scoters, mergasers, buffleheads, cormorants, bald eagles, kingfishers, guillemots, auklets and more. The highlight of the trip for me was when two harbor porpoise surfaced behind our boats a few times. They seemed to be feeding, but moved off before we could get some really good looks.

All in all, a great start to the 2010 season, and I look forward to paddling again soon.

Gorgeous sunset seen from 3 hour sea kayak tour

San Juan Island sea kayak wildlife update for July 3rd:

This evening I paddled out of Roche Harbor for a sunset tour, and boy was it spectacular. I think sunset tours are my favorite because we saw all the local critters-- bald eagles and eaglets, harbor seals, harbor porpoises-- but also had the waters to ourselves as most recreational boaters had already turned in.

This trip we were especially lucky to have seen a few harbor porpoises out feeding and also a mother harbor seal giving her young pup a ride on her back. It was a nearly cloudless day, and the colors were spectacular, so I'm glad we stayed out a few extra minutes to watch it truly set.

Rain doesn't damper spirits on sea kayak

San Juan Island sea kayak wildlife update for June 24th:

Yesterday started off gray and rainy, so I was pleased that my guests were not deterred by the cool weather. We made sure to dress appropriately with warm layers and raincoats, and headed out. It's absolutely essential that everyone who intends to go out on the water always brings clothing to stay warm and dry-- even in summer that means a fleece or other non-cotton layers, and a windbreaker or raincoat. It's always better to be prepared than caught unawares!

I love paddling when it's gray and misty out, especially when the water is almost absolutely still and it's hard to distinguish between sky and sea. We saw lots of wildlife yesterday, a sunflower sea star, a large group of playful and curious harbor seals, bald eagles, sea birds and even a harbor porpoise! The coolest thing was watching two adult down on the beach by the waters edge, and seeing one adult walk into the water and appear to lunge after prey in the low tide zone. I've never seen a bald eagle go 'wading' so that was really amazing!

3 hour sea kayak tour sights orca whales!

San Juan Island sea kayak wildlife update for June 23rd:

I'm SO pleased to be able to write about my own killer whale sightings today! This past week we've been seeing killer whales on multiple 3 hour, 5 hour and multi-day tours and whale watch trips, but today was the first time I've been the one to spot them!

I paddled out with a lovely family from California, and the seven of us made our way down the west side of Henry Island. As we could see over a dozen boats clustered together out in the Haro Strait, we started to look for killer whales. Although the whales were spread out and at a distance, we could see well enough to make out all the individual dorsal fins, the sprays of exhalations, and even the single breach! It was neat to be able to discern the tall males from the smaller females and juveniles.

It was such a great experience to be able to sit off shore and watch two different groups of killer whales swim by. So great, in fact, that not even this sight of four harbor porpoises surfacing 100 yds from our boats could distract us from the killer whales.

Harbor porpoises pop up in front of sea kayak tour

San Juan Island sea kayak wildlife update for June 18th:

Today I paddled out on a 5 hour sea kayak tour with guests from all over the U.S.. We set off under graying skies, and encountered strong currents and big waves right off the bat. As we rounded Kellett Bluffs, we found ourselves paddling through rough water with the wind at our backs and waves breaking all around us. It was exciting to be paddling through such big water, and everyone had a wide smile on their face!

The skies cleared up and it ended up being a gorgeous day for a paddle, with two exciting wildlife encounters to boot! Just as we paddled out of the rough water a harbor porpoise emerged 30 feet off our bows. Although it became hard to spot as it swam through breaking waves, we saw it surface a few more times-- and quite close!

Then, as we sat in a forest of bull kelp, a few harbor seals began popping up all around us. They didn't seem surprised to see us, or disturbed at all. A light gray adult surfaced between our kayaks and twirled on the surface, showing his belly, closing his eyes slowly and snorting. Such a great chance to see a seal up close!

Overnight sea kayak trek in the San Juan Islands

San Juan Island sea kayak wildlife update for June 9th and 10th:

Yesterday Joe, Nick and I along with new guides Megan and Tim returned from a little overnight kayak trip of our own. We paddled out to Stuart Island for the night, and then returned to Friday Harbor the second day. The gorgeous blue skies and calm waters let us take advantage of the area and explore some new routes. We saw lots of eagles and sea birds, and even found a small pod of harbor porpoises foraging off the western point of Speiden Island.

San Juan Island whale watch wildlife report Saturday, June 6th

Success! Nancy and I headed out from Roche Harbor and headed north in search of some members of K pod that had been spotted earlier that day. Whales in K pod are members of the Southern Resident Community, resident killer whales that spend their summers here in the Salish Sea as they hunt the salmon that pass through on their way to spawn upriver.

After a long boat ride (cruising with the current at 18 knts) we encountered the whales just a few miles south of Point Roberts. There we saw K 20, Spock, and her 5 year old calf Comet. Spock is a female killer whale with quite a large dorsal fin. It is so large that researchers had long thought her to be a male, so it was a big surprise the day she was spotted with a calf! These two were swimming slowly north at a pretty relaxed pace. We were able to spend time with them, watching them surface and dive in unison, and get fantastic clear looks at the dorsals and saddle patches.

After a long spell Nancy turned our boat south and as we headed down the channel and neared Skipjack Island, we started seeing the small fins of harbor porpoises all around us. Nancy shut off the engine and we counted dozens of porpoises surrounding the boat. They were pretty unconcerned by us and continued to surface. It was a pretty neat sight!

Seals and porpoises make some appearances for San Juan Island sea kayak tour

San Juan Island sea kayak wildlife update for June 2nd:

This afternoon I paddled out with Doug & Debra from Idaho, and they brought luck with them. We saw a ton of wildlife, and the weather was fantastic to boot. All throughout the 5 hour paddle we saw and heard male harbor seals slapping the surface of the water, but it was in the bull kelp bed off of McCracken Point that we could see them up close. These seals were launching almost their whole bodies out of the water and coming down with a resounding splash. It was impressive to see such displays and in such detail.
The other highlight of the day was seeing harbor porpoises. At one point we saw a few slowly slipping in and out of the water feeding. It was such a calm, perfect day that we could see their outlines perfectly. Later as we rounded Kellett Bluffs another harbor porpoise surfaced just a dozen feet or so away from my kayak!

I think the seals must have liked Doug, because on our way home a lone harbor seal popped up repeatedly in front of, beside, between and behind our boats. It was exciting to guess where it'd appear next!

Two day sea kayak tour full of wildlife!

San Juan Island sea kayak wildlife update for May 16th & 17th:

Well I've just returned from our first overnight sea kayak trip of the season and have to report back a wonderful success. The weather was absolutely perfect and the wildlife certainly put on a great show, so that coupled with delicious snacks and good company made for a great weekend.

Steve and Robin were Washingtonians with an appetite for adventure, and I'm glad I could deliver. We met in Friday Harbor and walked down to our exclusive launching docks where we discussed the menu, the weather and tide predictions and our combined goals for the trip. It's important to us at SJO that everyone has a wonderful trip, and we'll do anything in our powers to achieve that-- whether that's getting up early to go fishing or birding or staying up late to point out constellations. Robin turned out to be a botanist, so our chance to see Yellow Island in bloom was welcomed. It was lovely to walk around a gorgeous, colorful island and learn even more about each flower. We saw blossoms of every color thanks to the chocolate lily, little pinks, purple camas, stonecrops, shooting stars, Indian paintbrushes and even prickly pear cacti in bloom.

Wildlife was a large focus of this trip, and it started off well with almost immediate sightings of black-tailed deer on the beach and bald eagles soaring overhead and next to us. By the end of the second day we'd gotten up close and personal with a family of mink (one coming within a few feet of Robin!), seen river otters fishing in our little cove, spotted numerous harbor seals both swimming nearby and lounging in the sun on close rocks, identified a few different types and colors of sea stars in the intertidal zone, walked around our site in the company of friendly deer, heard the insistent cry of black oystercatchers each day, and watched a small pod of harbor porpoises feed just off shore of our camp. After all the wildlife seen on the first day, we hardly had expectations for more, however the best was yet to come.
It happened after dinner as we had settled on a grassy overlook to watch the sun set over Salt Spring Island. It was a gorgeous sunset, full of bright colors and puffy clouds. We were concentrating on the sunset, so it was a great surprise to see the harbor porpoises resurface. This time their tiny black dorsals made a beautiful contrast against the glassy pink waters-- fantastic!

All in all, this overnight was a fantastic trip-- I can't wait to see what else lies in wait for this summer.

P.S. This weekend's trip was also a great example of going car-less on the San Juans. Steve and Robin left their car at Anacortes and walked on to the ferry the morning of our departure. After arriving at Roche Harbor the second day, they were shuttled back to Friday Harbor via our company van just in time to walk on to a late afternoon ferry home.
P. P. S. Pictures to follow.

Harbor porpoises make an appearance for sea kayak tour

San Juan Island sea kayak wildlife update for Saturday, May 9th:

I am glad so many folks decided to come kayaking today as it was absolutely gorgeous here on the west side. My first tour of the day was special, as it was just Dan and Joan with me, and we got to really relish the quiet perfection. They were native Washingtonians, so it was a treat for me to be able to show them a side of these islands (and their state) they'd never seen before.
My second tour was also pretty neat as the wildlife really came out for the four couples I was guiding. We had numerous bald eagle sightings and harbor seals popping up quiet close to some of our boats. I was pretty content with that and just enjoying our paddle when one of my guests, John, spotted something way in the distance. It was a harbor porpoise or two! They were surfacing quietly, and moving quite quickly, so we were able to see them just a few times before they'd already moved past our range. After that I spotted a red fox trotting along the beach, and a river otter surfacing briefly to round off our trip. All in a day's work!